LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 

Shelf ..6Z<^^ 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



/ 



.^. 



William Lloyd Garrison 



nOORE. 



William Lloyd Garrison. 



BY 



^V 



T^^^^r,', N. M(^()KE. 



Ai-THOR OF "Pilgrim'; asi> Pikitans." " Shaurach, 

"ASTMONV BUBNS," BTC. 



^^-y^ 



— »o:*;o 



BOSTON : Jj^ 
GIN'N cS: COM TAN V, PUBLISHERS. 
1888. 



Vvi^o'o^S 






s 



Note. — For most of the facts and quotations contained in 
this short sketch, see " William Lloyd Garrison : The Story of 
his Life, told by his Children " ; " Garrison and His Times," by 
Oliver Johnson ; " The Garrison Mob," edited by Theodore 
Lyman 3d, and the "Memorial History of Boston," Vol. HL 



Copyright, 1888, by N. Moore. 



Typography by J. S. Gushing & Co., Boston. 



WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 

1805-1S79. 

L 

Several years ago a new bronze statue was 
placed in tlie Commonwealth .Avenue Park, in 
Boston. 

The unveiling of the statue passed almost 
unnoticed. There was no speech-making, no 
ijatherinir of the crowd. 

But a group of little girls, playing there later, 
ran up to the sitting figure; and one of them, 
climbing upon its knee, gave it a hearty kiss. 

Few of our statues have been welcomed in 
just that way. Perhaps because few of our 
great men have done anything that a little girl 
could understand so well as she can the fact 
that Mr. Garrison helped to free the slaves. 

He helped to free them by saying again and 
again, in words that forced people to listen to 
him, that slavery was wrong. 



4 WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 

A stock of real Puritan courage enabled him 
to persist in saying this when others tried to 
stop him. A habit of self-denial gave him 
power to endure poverty for himself while try- 
ing to promote the welfare of the slaves. 

His courage was handed down to him, per- 
haps, from his father's mother's father, Daniel 
Palmer; his self-denial, however, he learned 
during the hardy training of his penniless 
childhood. 

His mother was very poor. Lloyd was 
taught early that he must take care of himself. 
When quite too young for the task he was to 
attempt, he left his home in Newburyport and 
went as a shoemaker's apprentice to Lynn. 

" There the little boy, who was only nine years 
old, and so small that his fellow-workmen called 
him ' not much bigger than a last,' toiled for 
several months, until he could make a tolerable 
shoe. He always retained a vivid recollection 
of the heavy lapstone on which he pounded 
many a sole until his body ached and his 
knees were sore and tremulous ; of the threads 



WILLIAM LLOYD GARRLSOX. 5 

he waxed, and the sore fingers he experienced 
from sewing shoes." 

The work wafe much too hard for him : he 
left Lynn and went back to Newburyport. 

Although his youth was far from being a 
holiday-time, we read that " Lloyd was a thor- 
ough boy, fond of games and of all boyish 
sports. Barefooted he trundled his hoop all 
over Newburyport; he swam the Merrimac in 
summer, and skated on it in winter. He was 
good at sculling a boat ; he played at bat-and- 
ball and snow-ball, and sometimes led the 
South-end boys against the North-enders in the 
numerous conflicts between the youngsters of 
the two sections; he was expert with marbles. 

" Once with a playmate he swam across the 
river to Great Rock, a distance of three-fourths 
of a mile, and effected his return against the 
tide; and once, in winter, he nearlv lost his 
life by breaking through the ice on the river, 
and reached the shore only after a desperate 
struggle, the ice yielding as often as he at- 
tempted to cliinb upon its surface." 



O WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 

He was fond of pets, and made them fond 
of him. One night, after coming home from a 
long stay elsewhere, " he was awakened by the 
rubbing of soft fur against his face, and found 
that puss [his favorite cat] had brought her 
latest litter of kittens, born while he was away, 
and had deposited them, one by one, about his 
head." 

For a number of years none of the kinds of 
work tried by the boy seemed suited to him, 
but in the year 1818 he discovered his right 
place in a printing-office. 



WILLIAM LLOVD GARRISON. 7 

II. 

As printer's boy, Lloyd set up type for the 
Ncwburyport Herald. When sixteen years" of 
age he began to write for the paper, and as 
soon as his ajjprenticeshijj was over, undertook 
himself to edit a journal. It was called the 
Free Press. 

In the /'m- Press of June 29, 1826, he wrote, 
"There is one theme which should be dwelt 
upon till our whole country is free from the 
curse: it is .Si,.\ \' i:R V ! " 

M the time wluii Mr. (iarrison began to de- 
clare his o])inion of slavery, there was a certain 
monthly newspaper which was printed for the 
special purpose f)f convincing people that the 
slaves should be set free. It was a tiny sheet 
with a very large name, — The Genius of Uni- 
versal Emancipation ! Its Quaker editor, 
Benjamin Lundy, saw that Garrison would 
make a strong ally. He persuaded him to go 
to Baltimore, where the Genius was jjublished, 
to write for the paper's editorial columns. 



8 WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 

Then how William Lloyd Garrison did write ! 
Lundy had said that the slaves ought gradually 
to be freed ; Garrison declared that' their free- 
dom ought not to be delayed for a day — for 
an hour. 

Of course this brought a storm about his head. 
Baltimore was a orreat slave centre. Slaves 
were constantly shipped thence to be sold in 
the Charleston or Savannah or New Orleans 
markets. Mr. Garrison knew that every sen- 
tence he prepared put him in peril, but the 
knowledge did not silence him. 

When a vessel belonging to a Mr, Todd of 
Newburyport left Baltimore for New Orleans 
with nearly ninety slaves on board, Garri- 
son's indignation was strong. He wrote a 
stinging rebuke. He said that if bringing 
slaves from Africa was piracy, carrying them 
from one port to another was piracy as well ; 
and that men who took part in such a trade 
were "highway robbers and murderers." The 
Baltimore people and the Newburyport owner 
were incensed. Mr. Todd and the Grand 



WILLIAM LLmSK t.AKRISON. 9 

Jury of Maryland brought suits against Mr. 
Garrison for liljcl. 

The trial went against him. lie was sen- 
tenced to pay a fine of fifty di.llars. and nearly 
fifty more for costs. So large a sum was not 
to be found lying idle in the pocket of an 
anti-slavery editor. Mi. (iarrison had not the 
money, and was thrown into jail. 

ikit even in jail there was work to be done. 
Mr. Ciarrison writes: — 

" During my late incarceratit)n in Haltimore 
prison, four men came to obtain a runaway 
slave. He was brought out of his cell to con- 
front his master, but j>retended not to know 
him. did not know that he had ever seen him 
before, could not recollect his name. 

"Of course the master was exceedingly irri- 
tated. 

"'Don't you remember,' said he, 'when I 
gave you. not long since, thirty-nine lashes 
under the apj)le-trec ? Another time, when I 
gave you a sound flogging in the barn .^ .An- 
other time, when you were scourged for giving 



lO WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 

me the lie, by saying that the horse was in 
good condition ? ' 

" ' Yes,' repHed the slave, whose memory was 
thus quickened, ' I do recollect. You have 
beaten me cruelly without a cause ; you have 
not given me enough to eat and drink ; and I 
don't want to go back again. I wish you to 
sell me to another master. I had rather even 
go to Georgia than to return home.' 

" ' I'll let you know, you villain,' said the 
master, 'that 7ny wishes, and xioX. yours., are to 
be consulted. I'll learn you how to run away 
again.' 

" The other men advised him to take the 
black home, and cut him up in inch pieces for 
his impudence, obstinacy, and desertion, swear- 
ing tremendously all the while. The slave was 
ordered back to his cell. 

" I had stood speechless during this singular 
dialogue, my blood boiling in my veins, and 
my limbs trembling with emotion. I now 
walked up to the gang, and addressing the 
master as calmly as possible, said: — 



WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. u 

" ' Sir, wliat right have you to that poor 
creature ? ' 

" He looked up into my face very innocently, 
and replied : — 

" ' My father left him to me.' 

"' Suppose,' said I, 'your father had broken 
into a bank and stolen ten thousand dollars, 
and safely bequeathed the sum as a legacy, 
could you conscientiously keep the money ? 
For myself, I had rather rob any bank to an 
indefinite amount, than kidnap a fellow-being, 
or hold him in bondage; the crime would be 
less injurious to society, and less sinful in the 
sight of God.' " ^ 

Many weeks went by while Garrison waited 
in that jail, but his couraixe never flairfred. 

" High walls and huge the body may confine, 
And iron grates obstruct the prisoner's gaze, 
And massive bolts may baffle his design, 

And vigilant keepers watch his devious ways. 
Yet scorns th' immortal mind this base control ; 
No chains can bind it and no cell enclose. 

* William Lloyd Garrison, Vol. L, p. 175, 



12 WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 

Swifter than light it flies from pole to pole, 
And in a flash from heaven to earth it goes." 

This he wrote upon the walls of his cell. 

The world in general gave him little sympa- 
thy. " Served him right " was the general 
comment. Only a few knew better. There 
was a poet who knew better. Mr. Whittier 
wrote to Henry Clay, asking that Mr. Garrison 
might be set at liberty. Mr. Whittier would 
have been heeded, too, had not another friend, 
Mr. Arthur Tappan, of New York, come for- 
ward at the same time, to rescue him. Mr, 
Tappan paid the fine, and released Mr. Garri- 
son from his durance of forty-nine days. 



WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 1 3 



III. 

Mr. Garrison did not go on with the Balti- 
more paper. He came to Boston, and began 
to publish another anti-slavery newspaper called 
the Liberator. 

Hard names had been flung at him. He 
had been called bitter, severe, harsh, uncom- 
promising, — "that madcap, Garrison." In the 
first number of the Liberator he wrote: " I will 
be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising 
as justice. ... I am in earnest; I will not 
equivocate ; I will not excuse ; I will not re- 
treat a single inch ; and I will be heard ! " 

He was heard ; there was no closing the ears 
to what he said; but for years men tried to 
drown his voice with volleys of abuse. 

The publishing of the Liberator raised a hue 
and cry. 

At the South, laws were made forbidding 
the passing of the paper through the mails. 
Garrison would have been thrown into prison 



I A WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 

again if North Carolina, South Carolina, or 
Georgia could have laid hands on him. 

A reward of ^5,000 was offered by the State 
of Georgia to any person who should bring 
William Lloyd Garrison to trial within its 

limits. 

But Mr. Garrison was undaunted. He wrote 
in answer to the threats that poured upon him: 
"... Know that a hundred men stand ready 
to fill our place as soon as it is made vacant 
by violence. ... For every hair of our head 
which you touch, there shall spring up an as- 
serter of the rights of your bondsmen, and an 
upbraider of your crimes." 

Some Boston men, hearing that a dangerous 
paper was being printed in their city, went to 
the office of its editor, to learn what they could 
of his dangerous ways. 

They climbed to the upper story of a build- 
ing called Merchants' Hall, opened the door of 
a great dingy room, and glanced within. 

A press stood in one corner by the ink-be- 
spattered windows; a few composing-stands 



WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 1 5 

were near; there was a long table on which the 
copies of the Liberator could be folded for the 
mail. A tall, slight young man and a wegro 
boy — these were Garrison and his assistant — 
were busily at work. Contrast this with any 
of the great printing-rooms of Boston, then or 
at the present day. 

A sort of bed was upon the floor. Did the 
editor sleep in this forlorn place "t Indeed he 
did, and often ate there too. He and Isaac 
Knapp, his fellow-publisher, had said that they 
would print the Liberator as long as they could 
do so by living on bread and water; and for 
more than a year a bakery was their only 
kitchen, and the oiifice their only dining-hall. 

The men who saw Garrison's poverty were 
blind to the meaniitg of his devotion. They 
turned away, assured that nothing of moment 
could come from that " obscure hole." 

The obscure hole is famous now. To it 
went those Vvho were to be the leaders of their 
time. From Garrison they gained fresh insight 
and zeal. 



1 6 WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 

Under his guidance anti-slavery meetings 
were held, anti-slavery societies were formed. 
What these societies worked for has long since 
been brought to pass ; but it was an uphill pull, 
and the city which raises a statue to William 
Lloyd Garrison to-day mobbed him fifty years 
ago. 

Slavery had grown to be the nation's darling 
siri. It was a problem with which the North 
was afraid to deal. If the Southerners would 
not listen to a word against it. Northern friends 
were as prompt in hushing adverse speech. 

Abolitionists were looked upon as fire-brands, 
the South as an explosive ; the Union, it was 
thought, would be shattered if the fire were not 
stamped out. The meetings of the Abolition- 
ists, therefore, in different parts of the country 
were broken up, their speakers roughly han- 
dled, their defenders put to the test of ridicule 
and. scorn. 

In October, 1835, an anti-slavery society, car- 
ried on by some of the ladies of Boston, tried 
to hold a meeting in the building where the 



WILLIAM LLUVl) tJARRLSON. 17 

Lidcra/or o{{\{:c then was, — No. 46 \Vashin<r, 
ton Street. 

That sumnKT had been a turbulent one for 
Boston. .An irritable spirit possessed the peo- 
ple, for many of the citizens, opposed to all 
Abolitioni.sts. were especially ani^ered by the 
coming of George Thompson, an anti-slavery 
orator, from Hngland. 

Mr. Thonii)s()n had been asked by the ladies 
to address their meeting, but it was afterwards 
decided that he would better not try to do so, 
and he left the city. 

People in general did not know that he had 
gone, and some particularly inflamed persons 
sent out the following hand-bill: — 

•• riloMl'SoN, 

"THE ABOLITIONIST!!! 

"That itUamous scoundrel, Thompson, will hold forth ////V 
afternoon, at the LiUrator Office, No. 48 \Vashington Street. 
The present is a fair opportunity for the friends of the Union 
to snake Thompson out! It will be a contest between 
the .Abolitionists and the frieniis of the Union. \ purse of 



1 8 WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 

$ioo has been raised by a number of patriotic citizens to 
reward the individual who shall first lay violent hands on 
Thompson, so that he may be brought to the tar-kettle be- 
fore dark. Friends of the Union, be vigilant ! 

"Boston, Wednesday, 13 o'' clock." 

One of the men who carried the hand-bill 
about the city says : " I left a bill at a famous 
oil store, and it was caught up by one of the 
firm, who read it and loudly shouted for John 
to get him a bucket of green tar and be ready 
to tar and feather the Abolitionist." 

And an unsigned paper, sent to Mr. Garri- 
son, informed him that certain young men were 
prepared to go further yet. The paper ran: 
" A barrel of tar, a corrosive liquor, and a quan- 
tity of indelible ink was procured and in readi- 
ness. The plan was to take you and Mr. 
Thompson to the Common, tar and feather you, 
and then dye your face and hands black in a 
manner that would never chano^e from a niorht 
negro color." 

At three o'clock on that Wednesday after- 
noon, the 2 1 St of October, the crowd beq-an to 



WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 1 9 

fill the streets. The ladies, coming to the hall, 
found the entrance blocked by jeering men. 

About thirty of them passed in, however, and 
took their places, followed by a number of 
young fellows who kept up a loud hooting, 
stamping, and whistling. 

Soon a well-known figure mounted the stairs 
and made its way into the hall. 

" That's Garrison," ran the comment. Mr. 
Garrison sat down, but rising again, came back 
to the crowd at the lower end of the room and 
said : " Gentlemen, perhaps you are not aware 
that this is a meetino; for ladies and those who 
have been invited to address them." Then, 
with a smile, " If, gentlemen, any of you are 
ladies in disguise, why, only apprize me of the 
fact, give me your names, and I will introduce 
you to the rest of your sex, and you can take 
seats among them." 

Pleasantry never comes amiss with a crowd : 
for a while the noise was checked, but it broke 
out afresh as new-comers packed the stairway 
and pushed their way into the hall. 



20 WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 

The tumult became more serious. Mr. Gar- 
rison, knowing that it was increased by his at- 
tendance, asked the president. Miss Parker, if 
he should go. She begged him to do so. The 
crowd was not a crowd of idlers alone. Young 
men of better standing had joined it, and older 
citizens were looking on, — not taking part, 
nor yet rebuking the rest. Ladies, while alone 
in such a mob, might meet with nothing worse 
than rudeness, but the presence of a man would 
give excuse for violence. 

As he could not make his way out of the 
building, Mr. Garrison stepped into the anti- 
slavery office, which was separated from the 
hall by a board partition. His friend, Mr. Bur- 
leigh, was with him. 

The noise in the hall did not cease. In the 
midst of it Miss Parker rose, and, as though 
quite undisturbed, went through the form of 
calling the meeting to order. She read pas- 
sages from the Bible, as was her wont at every 
meeting, and offered a prayer. 

Her clear tones stilled the clamor nearest 



WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 2 1 

her, but fresh outbursts came from those who 
were beyond the reach of her voice. 

A rush was made upon the door of the anti- 
slavery office. The panel split. Mr. Garrison, 
writing at his desk, saw flushed and angry 
faces peering through the break. 

" There he is! that's Garrison! out with the 
scoundrel ! " he heard them cry. 

" You may as well open the door," he said 
quietly, to Mr. Burleigh. 

From the street below came shouts for 
" Thompson ! Thompson ! " The mayor had 
come and was telling them that Thompson was 
not in the city. He also urged them to dis- 
perse and keep the peace. After this he en- 
tered the building. 

Going to the ladies, he told them that if they 
would leave the hall at once, he would promise 
them protection ; but if they lingered, he could 
not answer for their safety. 

Meanwhile a message had come to the so- 
ciety from Mr, Francis Jackson. He invited 
the members to continue their meeting at his 
house. They agreed to accept his offer. 



2 2 WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 

" Two and two to Francis Jackson's, Hollis 
Street," ran the order ; and also the whisper, 
" Each with a colored friend ! " 

Two and two they filed out of the hall, every 
colored woman moving by the side of some 
wdiite member whom the mob would be forced 
to respect. 

" When we emerged into the open daylight," 
wa-ites one of these ladies, " there was a roar of 
contempt and rage, which increased when they 
saw that we did not intend to separate, but 
walked in regialar procession. They slowly 
gave way as we came out. . . . We saw the 
faces of those we had till now thouorht friends ; 
men whom we never before met without eivinQf 
the hand in friendly salutation." 

When they were gone, the cry broke out 
with fury, " Garrison, Garrison ! we must have 
Garrison ! out with him ! lynch him ! " 

Then the sign outside the anti-slavery office 
roused their ire. They were eager to tear it 
down. 

" That sign must and shall come down," 



WILLIAM LLOVD GARRISON. 23 

said two young men to the mayor. The mayor 
said he would have it taken in ; but without 
waiting for this to be done by the proper per- 
son, one of the young men rushed to the win- 
dow, tore the sign from its fastenings and flung 
it to the crowd. It was broken into fragments. 
That over, the cry for " Garrison ! Garrison ! " 
rang out again. 

The mayor went into the anti-slavery office, 
and begged Mr. Garrison to make his escape. 



24 



WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 



IV. 



Mr. Garrison wished to appeal to the mob 
himself, 

" Oh, if they would only hear me for five 
minutes ! " he said. 

But his friends would not let him go out to 
the crowd. They joined their entreaties to 
those of the mayor, and Mr. Garrison yielded. 
Finding a window at the rear of the building, 
he swung himself out, and dropped upon a 
shed below. From the i-oof of the shed he 
made his way into a carpenter's shop, and 
then tried to get out into Wilson's Lane, 
now Devonshire Street. 

The mob saw him there, and set up a shout. 
Rushing towards the entrance, they almost 
captured him, but the carpenter closed his 
door in their faces, and stoutly held them off. 

Again Mr. Garrison wished to put himself 
into their hands, but ao-ain he was bes^gred to 
avoid them, and once more obeying, hid him- 
self in a room overhead. 



WILLIAM LLOVD GARRISON. 25 

The carpenter's door could not resist longer. 
A handful of men burst in, leaped up the 
stairs, and entered the room where Mr. Garri- 
son was concealed. 

Mr. John Reid Campbell, who had kept at 
Mr. Garrison's side, was there to confront 
thcni. 

Forcing Mr. Campbell to the window, that 
he might be seen by the mass outside, they 
cried, " This is not Garrison, but Garrison's 
and Thompson's friend, and he says he knows 
where Garrison is, and won't tell." 

A moment more, and they did not need to 
be told, for Garrison was found. 

"On seeing me," says Mr. Garrison, "three 
or four of the rioters, uttering a yell, furiously 
draircred me to the window with the intention 
of hurling me from that height to the ground; 
but one of them relented and said, " Don't let 
us kill him outright." So they drew me back, 
and coiled a rope about my body, probably to 
drae: me throuc^h the streets." 

A ladder was placed against the side of the 



26 WILLIAM LLOVD GARRISON. 

house. Having climbed out upon it, Mr. Garri- 
son went down to the street below. 

A dozen hands stretched up to grasp him ; his 
hat was knocked from his head, and torn to 
pieces by the crowd. The rope was still about 
him. 

Freeing himself from that, he found that he 
was held by three or four powerful men, who 
had thrust themselves in front of the rest to 
seize him. 

They kept possession of him, but he soon 
saw that they meant him no harm. Indeed, 
they had undertaken to defend him. 

One of them afterwards said that he had at 
first thought the affair good sport, but now 
concluded it was going too far. So he said 
to a friend, " Let's go to the rescue." 

Surrounding Mr. Garrison, they led him 
along at the head of the mob shouting, " He 
shan't be hurt ! You shan't hurt him ! Don't 
hurt him ; he is an American." 

Still the mob swept on ; and " To the Com- 
mon " was their counter-cry. 



WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 2/ 

They neared the City Hall, which was then 
in the Old State House. 

The mayor, at that moment was seen hasten- 
ino- toward them throudi State Street. Men 
meeting him had said, "They are going to 
hang him," meaning Garrison. " For God's 
sake save him ! " He came upon the crowd at 
the corner of Wilson's Lane. 

With the small force of police at his com- 
mand. Mayor Lyman bent all his energies 
toward getting Mr. Garrison into the City 
Hall. 

" To the Froo: Pond ! " shouted the mob. 

" Help the mayor !" cried the police, and some 
of the bystanders rushed forward at the word. 

At the south door of the City Hall the two 
parties had a sharp struggle. The mayor was 
victorious; by a great effort Mr. Garrison's 
sturdy champions, who had not loosened their 
hold, bore him in through the door, and car- 
ried him up into the mayor's room. 



28 WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 



V. 



The escape had been a narrow one, and 
danger was not yet past. The mob grew con- 
stantly larger. It was beyond the control of 
the police. As the building was then both 
Post Office and City Hall, the mayor felt anx- 
iety for the safety of the mails as well as for 
Mr. Garrison. It seemed to him necessary to 
get Mr. Garrison into some place that could 
be better guarded. 

The jail was the only stronghold in the city; 
the mayor urged Mr. Garrison to take refuge 
there. 

While the papers were being made out, — 
papers committing Mr. Garrison to jail as a 
disturber of the peace, since he must be ac- 
cused of some crime in order to be put behind 
bolts and bars, — Mr. Garrison, whose clothing 
had been torn by the mob, dressed himself 
anew. The young man who had been first to 
attempt to save him, exchanged coats with 



WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 29 

him, and other articles of clothing were sent 
up from the Post Ofifice below. One man lent 
a pair of pantaloons ; " another, a coat ; a third, 
a stock ; a fourth, a cap ; etc." 

But the mayor k-new that to get Mr. Garri- 
son away, he must outwit the crowd that still 
watched at the doors. 

He decided upon a ruse. The City Hall 
had two doors. By the mayor's orders a car- 
riage drove rapidly down the street and stopped 
at the southern entrance. The men who had 
been helping him gravely ranged themselves 
in two lines, making a passage from the build- 
ing to the carriage door. 

The crowd gathered there, waiting to fall 
upon Mr. Garrison. 

But just then another carriage drew up be- 
fore the northern steps ; Mr. Garrison, unrec- 
ognized at first in his different dress, came 
down from the mayor's office, and took his seat 
in the vehicle. 

Those of the mob who had remained on this 
side of the City Hall raised a great shout and 



30 WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 

rushed upon the carriage, with cries of, " Cut 
the traces ! cut the reins ! " 

One drew a knife to cap the word with the 
deed ; another flung a rope around the body 
of the carriage to overturn it, while a score 
clung to the wheels or flung themselves before 
the horses' heads. 

A stout umbrella kept the knife at bay, the 
driver's whip lashed those who held the bits; 
the horses, starting forward just as the carriage 
was tilting over on one side, jerked the rope 
from the rioters' hands ; a friendly chaise driv- 
ing close to the wheels scraped off the men 
clinging there ; and the beleaguered vehicle, 
thus rescued, dashed off to the jail. 

While it was taking a roundabout course to 
Leverett Street, the mayor proceeded thither 
by a shorter route, and, by running most of the 
way, arrived in time to see ]\Ir. Garrison alight 
and enter undisturbed. 

Friends visited Mr. Garrison in the eveningr, 
finding him wholly serene, and he writes that 
he rested tranquilly through the night. But 



WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 3 1 

what shame to Boston that a night's lodging 
in a grated cell was the best hospitality she 
could offer to William Lloyd Garrison on the 
2ist of October, 1835 ! 

On the following morning Mr. Garrison was 
put through an examination before a judge, — 
merely for form's sake, — and then released. 

Though he left the city for a few days, he 
was soon at his post again, writing, publishing, 
speaking, — working in every way for the 
cause. 

Through twenty-five long years opinion slow- 
ly changed in Boston. The mob itself gained 
friends for Garrison. It roused to action the 
eloquent orator Wendell Phillips. It made 
new converts for the Abolitionists. Their num- 
ber orraduallv increased. Boston became their 
stronghold ; a hiding-place for many an escap- 
ing slave. And at last the cause prevailed. 
The Civil War, brought on by slavery, crushed 
out the evil which for the sake of peace and 
of the Union men had endured. In 1S63 
the Proclamation of Emancipation freed the 



WTLLULM LLOYD GARRISOX. 



V\~hc-ii th^ war "was over. . :. . _ 

- rrrr S-iir-rer. Mr. Garrison 
went to Cr .: ?re5:£t~t Lincoln's 

invitj^ " -e ceremonv. 

^'^' - ---. :.,rie, and the two 

IT. . _ _- : . _ _ , : : Tether over their lon^ 



years cf eEcr -i'dv in the knowledge that 
the d^red r— i come at lasL 

The gradr^it :: rrlj freed race was 

overwhelming. ThoiisaLnos of the colored peo- 
ple wiere in Charieston, and whenever ^Ir. Gar- 
rison passed through the streets, thev greeted 
him with shouts and songs <^ jov. 

On the day after the flag-raising thev claimed 
him fw their own especial thanksgiving festivaL 
Eaiiy in the rooming diey flocked to Citidt' 
Square, where he was to speak to them. The 
colored children formed in a long piocession, 
and marched in oido- to the place. While 
they waited for ^Ir. Garrison to arrive, a col- 
oincer addressed them ; but presendy 



WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 33 

the crowd beo:an to shout and swav. Garrison 



I 



was coming 

With sonors and cries and cheers they sur2:ed 
about him ; those who reached him first lifted 
him from the s:round and bore him on their 
shoulders to the speaker's stand. 

They knew his worth. The nation has since 
learned to acknowledge it ; and Mr. Garrison, 
we like to think, lived long enough to be con- 
scious of his countr\''s sfratitude. 

Certainly, he never res:retted his years of 
effort. '• What are vou s^oinsf to do .^ "' he once 
asked, turning to a boy of seventeen, in the 
parlor at " Rockledge," his Roxbur}- home. 

" I don't know," was the doubting answer. 

With a smile which showed that he was 
thinking of his ov.-n career, Mr. Garrison said, 
" I can wish for a young man no better fortune 
than to be the champion of a hated cause I " 



.is-""*'" 





